How you can help!

Hurricane Katrina Quilt
So, you already know about me and my quilting passion/obsession and you may be thinking this is all fine and dandy, but how can I be of any help? How can I help when she isn't even a non-profit organization and I want a tax deduction or something to show for my donation after all, I work hard for my money.

You are right, you do work hard for your money and so do I. So, I came up with a plan. It is called: 'Adopt-a-Quilt.'

Adopt-a-Quilt is so easy that I can't think of a better way for everyone to be in a win/win situation.
There are 3 plans in the Adopt-a-quilt to help others.

#1- You order it, you pay for it and the quilt goes to your choice of charities. I am currently making a queen sized quilt for 2 dispatchers. I have all the material already and they are 50% completed. I will still need batting and the money to mail them off. You can contact me and request an amount that would cover the batting, postage and labor and I will then send the quilt off with a note stating you were the sponsor of the quilt ......OR......

#2- I have several quilts waiting to be sold, or you may want a certain size in a certain color. You let me know, I will send you the amount I will charge (see price list estimate below), you will receive the quilt for your own personal use and you can choose how you want the profit to be used. Lets say I have 4 baby quilts in stock and already completed. You need one for a baby gift. The cost for baby quilts range between $50-$150 depending on size and work involved. You buy one at the $75 price range and state you want the profit to go to the homeless. It is already done, so I take the $75 and buy more fabric and make a quilt for a homeless person and it is delivered to someone on the streets in my area, along with a bible and a few necessities.

PRICE LIST:
Crib (Simple) $50 Crib (*Complex) $100 & Up
Twin(Simple) $80 Twin (Complex) $125 & Up
Full (Simple) $150 Full (Complex) $200 & Up
Queen (Simple) $175 Queen (Complex) $250 & Up
King (Simple) $225 King (Complex) $300 & Up
**Complex would be weaved, log cabin, wedding ring, applique, etc.

#3- You don't care about the write off, you don't need a quilt, but you don't trust sending me money (by the way, I take pictures of all my quilts so you would get a picture plus know how to contact the recipient). Yet, you still feel compelled to help. You can send me gift certificates for postage through FedEx or UPS. You can request what my needs are and I will let you know fabric colors and amounts, batting needs, etc.

#4- You are feeling exceptionally generous and want to help me out. I am in need of several things for my quilting:

• Hinterberg Fold Away Quilting Frame (comes complete with light) $459 +postage.
• Extension poles for above. **http://www.hinterberg.com/foldaway.htm
• Closet redo (estimated cost $2000)
• Singer Futura Sewing Machine (from WalMart) $497
• Sewing Cabinet (WalMart) $87.68
• Business Cards
• Professionally designed web-site
• Sewing Labels

Just contact me and I will let you know what I need. If you can't afford any of the above and just want to donate to the cause, I will gladly accept cash or money orders.

I am also in the process of looking into starting up a non-profit organization for this so people can receive tax write offs, but that takes time and many of those in need have no time.

Homeless:

Have you ever driven by and seen homeless people sleeping in parks, in building doorways or sat at a signal with the homeless person holding a sign? What did you do? Did you curse for getting stuck at the light? Did you fidget aimlessly in your car pretending to be busy so you could ignore the need? Did you avert your eyes? Or, did you roll down your window and give them a few dollars, your Big Mac you just bought, a bottle of ice water, a pack of cigarettes? Do you wonder where these people come from (did they have families, jobs, homes), where do they sleep at night, how do they shower, etc.? Or do you call the police and complain that your town is becoming contaminated with rifraff?

I see both sides because I can. I worked in a bar in California years ago and had a man come in everynight that was a drunkard. I knew he worked on the docks, I knew he lived under a bridge and I know he would ask me once a week or so to leave the outside bathroom door unlocked when I left so he could wash up. He was always polite and when he got out of hand, I would ask him to leave and he did.

One night it was just the 2 of us in the bar and I asked him his story. He was once an executive for a large company in Connecticut, had a beautiful wife and daughter (showed me the many pictures) even gave me his old home address. He came home from work one evening and his house was empty, cleaned out and his family was gone. He said he spent weeks,months and a few years (not to mention thousands of dollars) looking for them, but it was obvious they didn't want to be found. He began drinking, lost his job, lost his home and wandered around until he landed on the docks. Dock workers never questioned where he came from or who he was and the work kept him busy, the money kept him drinking.**Never judge a person by his circumstances.

I also have a son who has Bi-Polar with schizoprenia and is an alcoholic at 27 years of age. I have done all I can to help him, provided him with shelters (he gets kicked out or leaves), called for medical help (he is usually to drunk to receive it), yet, I send him clothing, shoes and personal needs during the year to a family members home he lives near. He is happy where he is at. He refuses to go to his aunts for dinner or showers preferring instead to go to a friends when he can.

Still, the homeless need quilts to keep them warm in the winter and protect them from the sun in the summer. A place to sit or a place to huddle under. Giving them a quilt is like having Christmas all year, they are so grateful for what you did for them & that kindness may be what turns them around.

PRISONERS:

I can see the Emails now, how can you support prisoners? My answer is once again, until you have walked in their shoes or seen the pain in their families, don't judge them. If you want prisoners to get out and become a benefit to our society once again, you must support something good they do.

They have prison ministries already and though a Christian, I am not a preacher, so preaching to the prisoners isn't for me. You can't take things into a prison, so I thought, how could I help? I can make quilts for family members from the prisoners.

Right now, I have a son in prison but when he leaves, I hope by then that I will have this figured out in more detail. In prison there are people that have babies on the way, small children, teens and parents. I receive a request from my son for lets say a crib quilt. I make several in the requested boy/girl patterns. Send pictures of both to my son. He shows the inmate, the inmate chooses which one and sends me the address where it needs to be sent. At this time, he also places the money we agreed upon into my sons prison account. When my son lets me know this money is on his books, the quilt is boxed, wrapped and sent with a note that this gift was specially chosen by the name of the prisoner for the recipient.

What a wonderful way for prisoners to be a part of their family. If this is to work all the time, I must have people willing to adopt quilts for prisoners. You send me the money when there is a need and I send out the quilt. Or, if you work in a prison or know a prisoner personally, you can put me in touch with them, or get all the information and I will send you the photos, etc.. This idea came to me last Christmas after our church 'adopted' prisoners childrens to buy gifts from the prisoner.

So, as you can see, there are many ways to reach out to others. Are you willing to do so without a tax break? It feels so good to help and bless others, maybe this is what you have been looking for all along.

**Pink quilt above was sent to a police dispatcher that has been diagnosed with breast cancer.